Bills aimed at adding caps on property tax bills to the state constitution and delaying increases on unemployment insurance
taxes are now before the full Republican-controlled Senate, weeks before the entire Legislature convenes on Jan. 5.
The Indiana Senate Tax and Fiscal Policy Committee plans to vote Tuesday on bills to cap property taxes and delay unemployment
insurance tax increases.
A state Senate committee got a jump-start Tuesday on discussing bills on unemployment taxes and property tax caps and plans
to vote on them next week, about a month before the full Legislature convenes.
The number of people claiming jobless aid has tripled since the recession began. The demand has drained the funds that many
states use to pay jobless claims. Nearly half the states, including Indiana, are borrowing from the federal government.
The state should delay unemployment tax increases on businesses from 2010 to 2011 to help companies retain workers and possibly
wait long enough for a federal bailout, Republicans who control the Indiana Senate said Tuesday.
The number of newly laid-off workers filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level since early
January, as layoffs eased a bit amid a fledgling economic recovery.
Indiana is becoming more business-friendly, according to the latest national ranking from the Tax Foundation, which moved the state
up two places to 12th.
Indiana officials say it will take longer to resolve the state’s bankrupt unemployment insurance fund’s funding troubles
than projected when a law designed to start fixing the system was enacted in April.
A new committee formed to provide oversight of Indiana’s unemployment insurance fund is set to hold its first meeting tomorrow.
Critics say the Legislature’s plan to shore up the insolvent Indiana Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund places the bulk of the financial
burden on already ailing businesses with the least ability to pay.
Indiana lawmakers are stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place when it comes to fixing the state’s bankrupt unemployment insurance fund.
In the past, lawmakers ignored the need to fix financing for the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, and now they must come
up with solutions that will be difficult for both Democrats and Republicans to accept.
Whether it’s structuring local government to fit the 21st century, financing sports stadiums, achieving property tax reform or putting the state’s unemployment fund on sound footing, our leaders consistently show their failure to lead.
Shoring up the state’s jobless-fund shortfall likely will cost employers and employees more.
Thanks to the Indiana Department of Workforce Development’s increased collection efforts, the state has recouped millions
of dollars in unpaid unemployment insurance taxes since January 2006. But one in eight Hoosier businesses remains delinquent.
